MSE News: Don't let online statements wreck mortgage and benefit chances

mcgsp

I was once caught out by not having a paper copy of a recent fixed phone line bill or a gas or electricity bill.

Utility companies and banks should make it easy to get an occasional paper copy of a bill or statement; some do.

JuicyJesus

MSE News is worse than the Daily Mail, I swear. Not only do they have sensationalist bias and awful reporting, but they also apparently think everyone in the country is incredibly thick and aim their reporting at people who can't do anything unless it's spoonfed to them.

It's not like mortgage applications etc are surprises, nor is it a surprise that you might need bank statements for them. You don't wake up one morning and go "f*ck me I've applied for a mortgage." If you need paper copies of statements it's prudent to ask for them ahead of time. If you leave it up until the day before you make the application to obtain the documents you need, whose fault is that? And as per another post on this thread, why should a bank lend hundreds of thousands of pounds based on an Internet printout you could easily have knocked up yourself in Microsoft Word? Hell, if you've got Google Chrome you don't need anything else to make your statements say whatever you want.

Utility companies and banks should make it easy to get an occasional paper copy of a bill or statement; some do.

Call them on the phone or send them an email or visit a branch. Job done.

MercenaryMan

Cory Doctorow wrote [STRIKE]a rant[/STRIKE] an article a while ago lamenting our reliance on utility bills:

Britain, why do you love your utility bills so? What is it about a simple, laser-printed sheet of A4 that inspires such confidence?
...
Gas bills just aren't hard to forge. They aren't designed to be hard to forge. Have a close look at all your bills and count the anti-counterfeiting measures. You won't find any.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/26/hitechcrime.efinance

Proving identity or the authenticity of documentation (e.g. bank statements) is probably difficult, but the system must work often enough or the service vendors wouldn't rely on them.

I often consider switching my electricity to direct debit, but the paper bill has proven itself too useful and the savings would be less than a good laser printer.

Chino

JuicyJesus wrote: »

If you need paper copies of statements it's prudent to ask for them ahead of time. If you leave it up until the day before you make the application to obtain the documents you need, whose fault is that?

You're missing the point that, until recently at least, companies have not made it clear when asking for a paper statement/bill that the statement/bill must be one printed by the bank/utility and not by the account holder/customer.

JuicyJesus

Chino wrote: »

You're missing the point that, until recently at least, companies have not made it clear when asking for a paper statement/bill that the statement/bill must be one printed by the bank/utility and not by the account holder/customer.

Is it not basic common sense that companies won't accept something you printed off of the Internet as evidence of anything? And is it not also basic common sense to ask first if you're unclear?

Again, do you need things spoon-fed to you?

Chino

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Is it not basic common sense that companies won't accept something you printed off of the Internet as evidence of anything? And is it not also basic common sense to ask first if you're unclear?

What's to be unclear about? If it's not specified then why should I assume that a paper copy printed from a genuine online statement is unacceptable?

As another poster has stated, no paper statements issued by banks/utilities in this country contain any anti-forgery mechanisms because there's no need for them to. So why should anyone assume that a statement printed by him or herself from a genuine online statement is any less genuine than a statement printed by a bank?

Bongles

Leaving aside the issue of individual responsibility, it astounds me in this day and age that so many things require these pieces of paper. I have all my statements and utilities electronically where possible to save my filing/shredding time. The only exception is my credit card statements and I thought having even that much done via paper made me an antiquated luddite these days.

I'm surprised that people who need to verify identity haven't found themselves driven to think of something else - partly because the distinction between printing the same thing on my printer vs the bank's printer seems meaningless and partly out of necessity because paper statements are surely becoming a thing of the past for many people.

meer53

I remortgaged earlier this year with Halifax, no problem with me providing prints of online statements at all.

UsetheFORCE

Chino wrote: »

Perhaps most will, but it appears not Barclays. From Barclays' statement FAQs:

"If you need a bank statement as proof of address, please note that some companies may not accept Online Statements. There are a couple of solutions available:
.
.
Contact us ... and ask us to post you a printed copy. There may be a small charge for this service."

I doubt very much there will be a charge since the moment that happens, I will switch back to paper statements...

....the money they save by not sending you a statement, do you see any benefit from it? I doubt it very much..

They are almost certainly just covering their back in case you take it to the extreme, they even have a machine in branch that prints statements for you..in addition to your regular statement.

Gromitt

I know Nationwide allow you to download your statement in PDF format. If you print that out on a colour laser printer (can be bought now for £50), it seems no different to the one that comes through the post apart from the word "Duplicate" written on it, which I'd imagine would appear on any statements requested, too.